GSK’s Hepatitis Drug Candidate Shows Promise

In interim results from a mid-stage study, GlaxoSmithKline’s hepatitis drug candidate bepirovirsen showed the potential to suppress both the surface antigen and the virus of hepatitis B after 24 weeks, leading to “the possibility of functional cure,” the company said.

Bepirovirsen is an antisense oligonucleotide that targets the RNA that the hepatitis B virus uses to replicate itself in infected liver cells.

GSK said a phase 3 trial evaluating bepirovirsen as a monotherapy is slated to begin in the first half of 2023. The company is also exploring combinations of bepirovirsen and other therapeutic agents.

Chronic hepatitis B affects nearly 300 million people with approximately 900,000 patients dying each year from its associated complications.